Well, it’s the first week back after Christmas and New Year and it’s time for the first blog of 2010. And what better way to start it than with the illustration we were commissioned to do for our good buddy Mr Dan Kavanagh at Ignition Search. Dan’s company were to be featured in the Sheffield Chamber’s ‘First for Business Magazine’ article about Search Engine Optimisation (or SEO as we like to call it). So he approached us, as he wanted an image that was ‘different’ and ’stood out’ from the usual stock images that you usually see to illustrate such articles.

The concept (Paul & Matt) developed was ‘get to the top of google mountain’ - which works well we thought. So, get on board Dan’s SEO cable car (which takes you straight to the top of Google!) or take the treacherous and altogether more complicated route through the lowlands of Google, all the while trying to avoid those ‘non-search engine friendly’ critters.

Lovely illustration by Matt and a more than happy client - good start to the year so far!

Without attempting to sound like a host from Family Fortunes, “If you were to ask 100 people from South Yorkshire what made them proud of their region?” I’d happily guess that a majority of them would have an answer based around a strong, industrial heritage (either that or The Full Monty!).

Being a Sheffield based company therefore, we at D4 are no different in sharing this viewpoint and consider it a great opportunity to work on a re-branding project with Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust, who specialise in preserving and promoting this traditional culture.

When considering how to move forward with the brand strategy, we wanted the Trust and museum gems to be more accurately presented online and to make the website a more enjoyable experience to help convey the importance of giving museum’s an overhaul. The starting point for this project though was to give the Trust a whole new ‘brand architecture’ that could be rolled out across all future marketing and promotional material. As the Trust currently manages three industrial museums (Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet; Shepherd Wheel Workshop; Kelham Island Museum), it was important to have a design that was recognisable not only across each sub-sector, but also represented the group as a whole.

With the brand imagery decided upon, the next step was to update and modernise the Trusts website. The main principle of the new website would be to act as a more effective marketing tool attracting new visitors to the museums which we did through colourful image led graphics all powered by impressive backend functionality of a database driven website. Allowing the site to be database driven means the sites content can be managed in-house, allowing for any instant updates on events and collections as and when they happen. With the foundations of the website in place, we also brought it bang up-to-date with social media feeds, a blog and a newsletter link, all great ways to keep young viewers updated.

We didn’t just stop with logo designs and a new web design, we also helped roll out the new brand across a range of promotional literature for various events and an educational campaign to schools in the region.

Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust are very good at modernising history without removing the sense of education and traditional values attached to it….. now they have a website and brand to match…

WEBSITE BEFORE:

WEBSITE AFTER:

BRANDING:

EDUCATION LITERATURE:

It seems rare these days to find a good, old fashioned, British engineering firm that delivers on the talent and craftsmanship that originally made South Yorkshire the engineering hub of the UK. It’s with great privilege therefore, that D4 have been able to link up again with a true, great British engineering firm in the stature of Philford Design.

Prior to us starting work with them two years ago, Philford’s had no marketing literature for their previous 29 years of existence! They were certainly doing something right though, as they had built up, and still maintain an envious reputation within the mining industry. Commissioned to look at their brand communications, D4 helped roll out their new style of corporate literature, website and promotional materials, to help aide introduction into a wider market.

Having established their brand and reputation within the UK engineering market, and winning new business as a result of the brand strategy we delivered. Philford’s approached us once again to ask if we could help them take the next step into embracing the overseas markets. Happy to help, the first step we looked at for integration into a foreign market was to update and upgrade the existing Philford’s website to be more internationally friendly. This was done by making it database driven (Baffled!? see the following link and all will be explained…….). Updating their website to a database allows Philford’s to content manage all areas of the business with greater ease, as well as enabling language capabilities to help conquer a wide range of international markets such as the Czech Republic and Poland.

With minor copy and translations to finish we expect the ‘new and improved’ website to be up live in the next few weeks!

CMS Websites (i.e. content managed websites) are certainly a hot topic at the moment and something I get asked about a lot. I am, it has to be said often guilty of going into ‘techie talk’, spouting such phrases as ‘you need to upgrade your existing site to become database driven, what you need is a better web design and online strategy’ - (you have to understand techie talk often has no direct translation into English Language). While I am proud of my new found knowledge, I won’t bore you with the technical detail but thought I would take the time to introduce you to the wonderful world of database driven websites, and more importantly the benefits they bring.

When browsing the internet, it is very rare (unless you are a techie that is) that anybody gives a second thought as to where the website they are looking at originated from and ultimately how that website is maintained over time. So I’ll take a moment, put my knowledge hat on and explain a few things about the wonderful world-wide web and how D4 can utilize its potential.

Originally, and still in abundance now, millions of websites have been built using static material. Although quick, cheap and easy to host initially, these websites more often than not become stagnant to the viewer as the information contained on them rarely changes due to the expertise required to aid web development. These static pages also restrict the user’s interaction with the content, often meaning they look elsewhere for more up-to-date, modern material.

What’s that I hear you ask, “Are there any better options apart from these static websites?” Well…… thankfully there is and this comes in the form of dynamic, database driven websites. Clued up and ready to spring into action, the design team here at D4 are able to upgrade existing static websites or build from scratch to become fully database driven, utilising the numerous benefits available from doing so.

When a website has been constructed using dynamic content, it is supported by a database that automatically changes and customises the content contained on the pages every time the page is requested. The main advantages are four fold:

“Scaleability” which allows for expansion and development of the website in the future, which long term will save costs and time for any amends or updates. Using a database ensures that data is never lost as the site grows and changes over time, so should you decide in 5 years that a new site is required, we store all the previous information, meaning any renovation is accessible and easier than a complete overhaul.

“Fresh Content” - Dynamic sites allow us to integrate a content management system (CMS) = a marketing managers dream! This means that all copy, images and links can be all managed and kept fresh in-house. The results of which will mean delighted clients about having access to relevant, up-to-date content, and you don’t have to fork out unnecessary costs for us to make changes to your website.

“Multiple Languages” - Another key reason our clients are biting our hands off for a website upgrade is this allows the site to house translations and display multiple language options. Not only that but translated copy can be entered directly onto the site through the content management system - this opens up sites to international market opportunities, which as we know for many of our clients is a potentially huge growth area at the moment with the pound being so weak.

“SEO” - Lastly, a big advantage and a very important part of business development that can arise from upgrading to a data driven site is better search engine performance (this helps with SEO). As the information contained within the database utilises the very latest programming techniques allowing clients to add in key words, meta descriptions, meta tags with ease, this combined with fresh content can really maximise and improve search engine ranking.

So there you have it, just some of the benefits available to you via an upgrade from static content to a fully database driven website. Like the sound of it? Why not indulge in the database driven delights and contact me (Marianne) to see if we can help.

When it comes to websites one size does NOT fit all!

Sorry about that. It’s just that we’re a bit fed-up with seeing bland, uninspiring sites made on the cheap using a standard template. You know the kind we mean – the ones you land on and think, ‘hmmm this is dull.’

Anyway, at D4 we’re big believers in creating bespoke websites with real visual impact, websites that communicate a whole range of information about an organisation even before you’ve started reading the content.

This sketch (above) is typical of the kind of planning we go through as part of the creative process when we’re designing a site for our clients. Yes, it looks a bit scatty, but it’s organised chaos.

And the end results will say more about the company it represents in one glance than spending all day on one of those off-the-peg monstrosities!

Well who’d have thought it, a D4 representative lecturing 35 masters marketing students on online branding?! Clare Williams went in by request of Daragh O’Reilly, Head of Marketing at Sheffield University, to give students an insight into the working world of marketing & branding for online audiences.

We covered topics such as; an introduction to online branding, the creative process, understanding brands, translating values into functionality, target audience demographics, wireframes, results & reporting, email & viral marketing, microsites, online communities, SEO, ageing websites and gave numerous case studies relating back to the specific topics.

The presentation helped to back up eight weeks of theory provided by Daragh who himself is a marketing guru, with an extensive practical background as well as many published papers under his belt. So it really was an honour to be asked by such an inspirational figure.

Despite having done squillions of presentations to boards of directors, business owners and marketing managers, Clare was surprised to find that prior to the lecture her legs had gone slightly jelly like and she had the glare of a piece of glass. However she later admitted this was largely due to forgetting her wonder woman suit.

The presentation was warmly received and Clare was extremely relieved that no-one fell asleep, at least noticeably. In fact Clare has been asked back to lecture 120 in the autumn of 2009. If anyone can find her can they please let her know.

We’re proud to announce we have a new client on board -  ‘Stratagia’, an Education Consultancy based in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. D4 won a three way pitch to develop and re-design their website and brand communications.

Stratagia chose us to redefine their service offerings and improve their online presence, and they believe the results of this will increase their company portfolio, whilst helping improve online communication to existing and potential clients.

The creative concept we produced is based around their company mantra ‘Learn, Share, Achieve’ which will feature throughout the site, and form the basis for a javascript and flash animation we will be producing. The project will also include photography and art direction.

The re-structure of the navigation, sitemap and HTML build is underway at the moment, and is shaping up nicely -  we are confident it will achieve some fantastic results for them, so watch this space.

New Business Startup

At D4 we’re always excited to get involved with new startup businesses. Ozonebus are a group of eco-minded, forward thinking, young entrepreneurs who came to see us for some help in getting their environmentally friendly school bus service up and running. With that and the small ‘inconvenience’ of medical degrees for most of the members, they’re a driven bunch!

We started with the rebrand - a fresh, youthful look to start them off, based on spring colours for a positive feel. The challenge, of course, was to simultaneously appeal to the teachers, parents and the pupils, while also reflecting the company’s environmental attributes.

We knew from day one we definitely didn’t want to go down the “urban” route as is seen all too often in design aimed at “the yoof”. You’ll be pleased to hear there wasn’t a graffiti typeface in sight.

A brochure was the first piece of literature they needed to get everyone on board and then followed the website, vehicle livery, bus passes, maps, stationery and of course the all important launch of the brand.

Who knew drains could be so exciting?!

We certainly didn’t, until we embarked on a large scale new website design and build project for our client Flexseal - market leaders in the design and manufacture of couplings (pipe connectors for those who aren’t in the know). Our brief from the outset was to improve navigation within the site and ultimately users online experience, to ensure the website was working as a more effective sales and marketing tool. The project has included a design refresh of the marketing style, working with the existing brand and full build of a database driven site with an integrated CMS (content management system) to bring Flexseal’s online presence bang up to date.

The fully content managed site was lovingly built by our in-house experienced php developers to be both flexible and interactive, but above all simple to use. The CMS allows (much to the delight of the marketing manager) the website content / images to be managed in-house meaning the site can be kept fresh and up-to-date with all the latest information. Products, images, video media, case studies and news articles, can all be managed through our system. It’s also good stuff to improve search engine  rankings such as Google and Yahoo! - we’re firm believers ‘content is king’.

The new Flexseal site has also been translated into German for their overseas partners - which is just being finalised and will be launched in the very near future…  and watch this space with D4 working with Flexseal down under.

Safe to say its gone down storm, but that’s enough of me singing its praises, better to hear it straight from the horses mouth (no offence Ed)

“Our bounce rate went down from around 70% prior to launch to an average of around 28% since launch. We now receive between 80-110 unique visits per day, as opposed to around 75 prior to relaunch.”

“Aside from vast improvements in the visual presentation, the best feature of our new website is our ability to quickly and easily update the content in-house – with the ongoing support of D4, we have taken full advantage.” (Ed Fairfield - Flexseal’s Marketing Manager)

Aaaah happy clients - that’s what we like to hear.

Flexseal 1

Flexseal 2

Flexseal 3

Buongiorno! International business trip to Milan… scorchio!

D4 has just returned from an international networking event in the Italian business capital of Milan. The plan - to meet and develop contacts over in Italy.

Three heady days of events, meetings and networking in the British Consulate, we met some fantastic businesses from Milan. Safe to say the whole event, food, wine & fine leather handbags (well when in rome!) was fantastic - and hopefully should have opened up opportunities for us to help inject a little D4 British design to the European market and help the Milanese finest exports break into the UK marketplace.

Milan